At the Vet

Lately my poor little Rosie, our princess kitty, has not been feeling well.  It started with the three boys sneezing and such and their symptoms resolved in a few days so when Rosie got sick with some of the same symptoms as the boys I figured she would get better in a few days.  Well, I was wrong.


I don't know if it was because I could confirm all the boys had kennel cough in the various shelters we adopted them from and could not confirm the same for Rosie or if she is just a bit more stressed than the boys but whatever the reason she wasn't getting better so today I decided to take my sneezing, head shaking and lethargic princess to the vet.  Because she just wasn't acting the same.


It was not at all an easy day at the vet.  They were very busy and very chaotic.  And then something happened that made me very sad.  An elderly woman using a walker came out of one of the rooms with who I assume to be her daughter close behind with a carrier.  I looked in the carrier since it looked to be another kitty - and it was empty.  At first I wondered why they were leaving their animal behind today when it hit me.  They had to put a beloved friend to sleep.  It was then I noticed the overly watery eyes of the older woman and the comforting hand the younger woman had on the older woman's shoulder as she paid.  And I felt terrible for her.  We had to go through the same thing in the very same room they had come from just a few months ago with our beloved Loki.  I almost started bawling right there in the waiting room.


I had the overwhelming urge to get up and offer the elderly woman a hug but thought it would be strange and perhaps upsetting for a complete stranger to want to share your pain.  But I did share her pain.  And after she paid and left with the younger woman I kind of kicked myself for at least not making the offer.  The worst thing that could have come from it was that she would have said no.


But she had gone and I found myself again in the waiting room with a family that had a dog with a limp that Rosie was watching warily although there was a carrier between her and the offending party.  We finally were called back and I'm happy to report she had no fever and was not dehydrated and just has a mild cold which can be helped along the road to full recovery with a course of antibiotics.  The vet we go to here is great, by the way.  She waited patiently while I dished Rosie out from her hiding spot under the bench and while I did so she sat down on the floor so I could easily hand Rosie to her and she could interact with my kitty more at her level.  I thought that was swell.


While I was waiting for the antibiotics to be mixed and delivered I started to smell an atrocious odor.  I looked under the bench at Rosie to make sure she hadn't pooped under there as that was what it smelled like.  It was truly nasty and I started to feel sick to my stomach it was so very gross. 


Finally the antibiotics came and I was able to go out into the lobby to leave.  And that's when I found out the source of that smell.  There was a family with a little girl who looked to be about six and one of the techs was out talking to them and telling them that their dog has not stopped having diarrhea and vomiting since they brought him in yesterday and that he had just had diarrhea before the tech came to talk to them.  She advised he was not doing well and that the vet thought they should take him to an emergency clinic so he could get the treatment he needed as they didn't have the facilities to do so and that even with the treatment the dog was so sick that his chances of making it were not good.  The family understandably was in tears as was the tech.  I know no background of this family, their dog, the tech but I could tell everyone was devastated by the news and that made me sad, too.


I was really glad to leave but really sad for the people whose experiences hadn't been nearly as positive as mine.